National Flag Day! Raise Yours With Pride!

Today is National Flag Day here in Australia. This is where we celebrate 108 years ago that Australia flew her own national flag for the first time in Melbourne on this very day in 1901; and each year, we have remember this day. How this came about was simple. After having the Union Jack as our national flag for so long, the Australian Government thought it was time, our country had our own flag and so put forward a national competition for the people of Australia to design a flag for its residents to be proud of. Over 30,000 entries flooded in and five of them looked similar to what the government found they'd fly from a flagpole. And on this day, in 1908, the first Australian flag was unfurled on the Exhibition Centre in Melbourne. What a way to make our country our own, eh? Well, since then, our people have been proud to fly the Aussie flag around the globe through hard times and celebrations, through war, peace, while standing up to adversities and challenges as well as finding this flag a wonderful sign that they are home from their travels.
So, today, Mum and I went to the National Flag-Raising Ceremony at the Logan Art Gallery and there were school kids there, the Lord Mayor of Logan City, diggers who were flag-bearers and plenty of nibblies, tea, coffee and orange juice to go around. I took some fantastic photos of the flags of our Memorial. This is the type of day which makes me proud to be an Australian. Even the day turned out lovely with the sun out with a cool Spring breeze blowing and a pair of musicians playing purely Australian songs such as 'Waltzing Matilda', 'We Are Australian' and 'Advance Australia Fair'... all of which usually brings a tear to my eye when I try to sing them.

I also met some important people. We already knew the Lord Mayor, Pam Parker, of Logan City. And I talked to a volunteer of the Logan Art Gallery who could also make it today. However, there were a lot of empty seats on the lawn of the art gallery. Mum introduced me to Mr. Shailer, man who is 91 years young; who had a suburb named after him... Shailer Park that is. Mum and he talked for a bit before we parted company and made our ways home into the warm Spring day.

As an Australian, or anyone from any country for that matter, what do you do to celebrate the history and love of your country? Even though we're a young nation, us Australians are new to traditions and I think this one is a great one to stick to.